Cops Corner 02.18.10

Feb. 7
Small problem
9 a.m. — 600 block of Corwood Drive. Animal Nuisance. A terrified complainant reported a black Chihuahua was standing in front of the above address and growled every time it was approached.

Feb. 8
It’s safe with me
7:16 p.m. — 4100 block of Central Sarasota Parkway. Petit Theft. Sometime over the weekend someone broke into a woman’s apartment and stole a safe from her office. Inside the safe were some important documents and antique coins. She believed the culprit is someone who has access to her apartment, because there were no signs of a break-in. The woman said it was strange that the safe was stolen and some electronics weren’t taken. The woman said she’s going through a divorce, and her husband, who still lives in the apartment, may have stolen the safe, because he didn’t know what was in it. The husband told deputies he didn’t take it and that his wife may be trying to set him up.

Feb. 9
Nap time
1 p.m. — 1500 block of First Street. Suspicious Person. Police responded to a report of a man lying on the ground at City Hall. The man told the officer that he was just taking a nap and because he’s homeless his “options for a nap are limited.” He declined any police or social-services help.

Get a room
5:43 p.m. — 300 block of South School Avenue. Suspicious Person. A caller reported an ongoing problem of a couple repeatedly having sex in a blue pickup truck in the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse.

Big Mac attack
8:40 p.m. — 6300 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. A sheriff’s deputy responded to a fast-food restaurant, where a man was lying on a bench inside the restaurant. The deputy tried several times to wake the man, but was unsuccessful. He then performed a sternal rub, which is rubbing knuckles on a person’s sternum. The man briefly arose, said “ouch” and then fell back asleep. After several minutes, the man finally woke up. He said he had walked all the way from North Port and had been drinking all day. The deputy found prescription drugs in his bag. He was taken into protective custody.

Movie mogul
9:37 p.m. — 1400 block of South Tamiami Trail. Trespassing. A man browsing a video store was caught trying to sneak out the door with three DVDs concealed in his clothes. The manager found the empty DVD boxes in the men’s restroom. The manager said he didn’t want to prosecute but wanted the man issued a trespass warning. Maybe the movies were “The Great Train Robbery,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Catch Me If You Can.”